The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

“Most dancers say that the stage is when and where they know that everything theyve been doing is worth it. If you think about it in minutes then it doesnt seem worth it, but I feel like the stage experience in general—rehearsing there, creating a story, and everything about that—thats a very unquantifiable thing. Thats why I continue. Thats why all those artists continue. I think its because the feeling of art is, in an economic sense, greater than everything else—its almost infinite,” Michelle Si (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The art of aplomb

by Arya Maheshwari, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief May 26, 2021

Michelle Si (12) used to belong to the world of ballet — and there was a time where that world seemed limitless. After joining a ballet studio at the age of 5, she soon found herself taking center...

“That exchange of information is to me the purest form of human connection, and that communication makes humans, humans. When Im on stage giving a performance to an auditorium of people, or when Im in a classroom in front of a group of kids teaching them something, that exchange of information is multiplied. Every single person in that audience and I are exchanging energy, feeding off of each other,” Alex Kumar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Breaking the fourth wall

by Esha Gohil, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor May 26, 2021

Clad in a crisp officer’s suit, Alex Kumar (12) reaches out into the audience as he confidently belts out a note that resounds throughout the Patil Theater during the 2019 spring musical “Urinetown.”...

“Im a person who’s comfortable being by myself. But when I think of Jo, she was this headstrong, brilliant, determined, opinionated woman, and when I was younger, Jo was who I wanted to be when I grew up,” Varsha Rammohan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Making her own way

by Alysa Suleiman, A&E Editor May 25, 2021

“I intend to make my own way in this world.” The independent and unapologetically defiant words uttered by tomboy Josephine “Jo” March, protagonist of Louisa May Alcott’s heartfelt, coming-of-age...

“We have so many opportunities to grow and experience new things so that we can be the next leaders of the world. As humans, we have a responsibility to act as caretakers and the voice of the wildlife we share this planet with, so improving animal welfare has always been my calling, to give a voice to the animals who cannot speak for themselves,” Alex Baeckler (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Call to action

by Esha Gohil, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor May 25, 2021

Standing under a colorful Happy Hollow Zoo sign and clad in a bright orange park employee T-shirt, Alexandra “Alex” Baeckler (12) grins, the familiarity of the location a comfort to her. Alex has been...

“Elon Musk said, If you need inspiring words, dont do it. I dont like doing things that I dont want to do because youre not going to have the drive to actually complete it to the very end. I feel like a lot of people dont have enough passion or interest in things; theyre doing it because other people are doing it or because youre told to. If you want to do it personally, then youre going to do it a lot better than if youre told to,” Jason Kwok (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Drive forward

by Mark Hu, Winged Post STEM Editor May 25, 2021

Eyes focused on the interior of his red Subaru and hands perched on the sides of the shiny hood, Jason Kwok (12) peers into the interior of his modded car, inspecting the individual parts and checking...

“If you focus, concentrate and control your emotions, it could be helpful in any discipline, whether it be school or baseball, or even volunteering for that matter. As long as you focus, put your mind to it and have that drive for it, things will happen better than how they would have been if you just sat there,” Andrew Chavez (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Pitching with intent

by Anika Mantripragada, Alena Suleiman, and Sally Zhu May 18, 2021

With the ball in one hand and a large brown baseball mitt in the other, Andrew Chavez (12) stands at the pitcher’s mound, his eyes on his target. Hands clenched together, he brings one knee up and stretches...

“I always talk about how I feel like Ive had so many full circle moments, where I was once the student and now Im the teacher. It feels that much more special when I remember that I used to be the one running around the playground or forgetting my Hebrew alphabet. It’s a reminder that its scary that were growing up, and I dont feel like Im too old for anything, but it’s still a significant growth,” Zoe Sanders (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The true meaning of home

by Varsha Rammohan, Co-Editor-in-Chief May 18, 2021

In the small community of Weston on the southern coast of Florida, Zoe Sanders (12) grew up surrounded by a cozy congregation of cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and extended family. Her cousins...

“[In debate] you have to debate things from both sides, and it’s really forced me to look at things from both perspectives, think about things from different angles … I want to be remembered for providing a unique perspective on things, giving some thoughts that make people things or adding some perspective on things that make people think about something in a different way,” Andy Lee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Masterful analyzation

by Claire Luo and Katelyn Zhao May 18, 2021

Andy Lee (12) recalls his proudest moment in his high school debate career. He and his debate teammate had been losing to the same strategy repeatedly throughout the year, an easily discouraging situation....

“One thing that I wish other people cared about was being more conscious and aware about other people and focusing more on learning from other people. Some of my most memorable learning experiences have been from working with other people and learning from them, whether thats communities or my friends, and a lot of people take that for granted and prioritize learning from books or school and not actually learning from experiences or other people,” Zoe Kister (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Exploring the unfamiliar

by Margaret Cartee and Katie Reed May 17, 2021

With hazel ombre hair flowing down her shoulders and a bright smile illuminating her face, Zoe Kister (12) sweeps her right leg up into a scorpion-like position, displaying her exceptional flexibility...

“My most defining experiences all came in middle school since I was able to explore what kind of person I wanted to mold myself into. It was a struggling process, but the effort that I was a bit reluctant to put in ended up being worthwhile. It wasn’t just about finding a balance between school and leisure, but also about finding and fitting in with my own group of friends. Now … I’ve found my crowd and I’ve struck that school and fun balance that’s allowed me to be successful,” Rohan Kannan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Creating the right vibe

by Kushal Shah, Sports Columnist May 11, 2021

Heartily chuckling while in deep conversation with his huddled up friends during office hours, Rohan Kannan (12) points to another friend working alone on a lunch table nearby, checking in with him and...

“Youre never going to be perfect, youre never going to reach your exact goal, but you can keep working towards it, finding those small things that you can change that will make a bigger improvement than you ever think theyll be able to,” Aditi Vinod (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Skiing towards success

by Lakshmi Mulgund, TALON Co-Sports and Social Media Editor May 11, 2021

When scrolling through Aditi Vinod’s (12) Instagram feed, there may be a few robotics or dog photos scattered throughout, but the blinding white snow and skis take over her photos. In one particular...

“You really only do live once. You might as well live your life to the fullest, especially as a child. And as a teen in high school, live your life to the fullest and dont have any regrets. I like to have fun and not really care about what other people think of me. I think thats definitely a way to go with life, because if you care about what everyone thinks, youre really not going to enjoy it to the fullest,” Natalie Vo (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swinging through life

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler May 10, 2021

Natalie Vo (12) leans her head back in thought, vividly remembering the moment she qualified for the Women’s Amateur Tournament last summer, the day that all her hard work paid off and finally revealed...

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